Prospero is the rightful duke of milan. Dukes were used as military leaders of several counties in a duchy, or the area they rule. Dukes are the sons of the Monarch, and the highest rank of power below the Monarch its self.
Prospero was also a fan of the liberal arts. During the 1600s magic was looked at as whichcraft and sinful. Wiches were thought to bring about poor harvest, dry cows and devil children. On the other hand the "alright to practice" form of magic was known as alchemy. Alchemy is the study the proposes that all things are made of the same core elements allowing certain objects to be converted to another with no other ingredients.(led to gold)
Prospero cuased the tempest to begin with becuase of the alignment of the stars, also known as Astrology, and his horoscope. Astrology means the study of the heavens, which directly corresponds with horoscopes. Horoscopes are the 12 zodiac constellations that arise at certain points of the year and are said to predict what a person while be like, do, and act like.
Prospero hails from the city of Milan. The year 1500 was a very large landmark in the history of the city of Milan. The city fell under the attack of Louis XII of france. Milan was sought after by the French and the Valois on one side and the Hapsbergs of Austria and the Spanish on the other. Until a victory by Charles V of Spain the city was in termoil. After the spanish victory Milan was sent into a period a economic and cultural oppression.
Dukes often and most likely were citizens of great wealth and influence. As long as the royal family was still in power the Duke of given areas would recide in the castle of the monarch. Some Italian castles were impacted by the invading Normans as they headed for the Byzantines and Moslems. Also, some great Italian castles are preserved in Florence, Bolagna, and Volterra. Medieval Italian architecture is a blend of Norman, Islamic, and Oriental techniques.
Prospero enslaves Caliban. This closely resembles the use of serfs in the Middle Ages. Serfs were basically part of the land they lived. A portion of what the serf produced on the lord's land was entitled to the lord. A serf usually worked 2-3 days a week on the cultavation or harvesting. If a lord chose to they could have a serf work day and night all week, but most lords refrained from over taxing the work load of their serfs in fear of them deserting the land.
Prospero cuases one of the ships, containing the King and his men, of the royal fleet to run aground near his island. Much of the naval world employeed Caravels during the 1600's. A caravel was a ship design of portuguese origin, that had lean hulls and 2-3 masts with square or traingle sails. This design allowed effiecient travel windward and was much faster then previous ship designs.
Prospero was ousted by his own brother, Antonio is guilty of treson. During the 1600s acts of treason were taken very seriously. Defendents were not given legal council and were taken straight to have their life ended, wither by beheading or hanging.
Miranda is Prospero's only daughter. The duaghter or duaghters of royalty usually got land of the domain, while the monarchy was most likey passed to the fisrt born son, or in the absense of the first born the second, etc. If no son was present then the kingdom was passed to the first born daughter.
Much of the thwarting of violence si atrributed to music in the Tempest. Opera was born at the turn of the 17th century. Opera combines poetry, theater, visual arts and music. Opera is used to express human emotion and natural phenomenon. The first great opera was Orfeo, by Claudio Monteverdi, first performed in 1607.
This picture represents the storm that Prospero creates.
This illustration of this book, represents the magic books that Prospero uses to conjure magic.
This picture clearly represents Prospero.
I thought this picture represented the bond that Prospero feels with his duaghter, Miranda.
Prospero is the rightful duke of milan. Dukes were used as military leaders of several counties in a duchy, or the area they rule. Dukes are the sons of the Monarch, and the highest rank of power below the Monarch its self.
This picture represents the storm that Prospero creates.
This illustration of this book, represents the magic books that Prospero uses to conjure magic.
This picture clearly represents Prospero.
I thought this picture represented the bond that Prospero feels with his duaghter, Miranda.